Wednesday 30 December 2015

A Week in Review (December 20-26)

A Week in Review (December 20-26)

Watched: The cousins play a lot of games together. We gave Jack the game Pie Face.  It was hilarious but messy. We tried it later in the week with a wet sponge and that was much easier to deal with and just as funny. The cousins got Twister, Monopoly, and Clue from us. They had a blast playing together. I think Clue was their favorite. 

Read: Nothing in the way of books. It seems like when we travel, I pack so much into the day that I use my downtime to get caught up on my games and social media. Not as good for my brain for sure!

Listened: To everyone sing Happy Birthday to my brother. Granted it was a day early due to his work schedule and our tradition of opening family gifts on Christmas Eve. I can hardly believe it was 26 years ago that I first learned about true love at first sight. 

Made: The long trek home from my mom's. While the distance has decreased dramatically, it felt awfully long fighting the blowing snow and wind. Luckily, Nick is extremely patient and just kept it at speed he felt comfortable with. There also weren't a ton of other drivers on the road, which did help with the safety factor. 

Felt: Thankful that my sister in law, Valerie, stopped by Hurts Donut and picked a dozen donuts so I had a wide variety to try. I have seen several people like their Facebook posts and I was eager to try them.  They had a ton of unique flavors.  While I didn't love them as much as I thought I would, they were still yummy. 

Planned: To just have Santa Claus deliver a stuffed dog letting Jack know that we would start the hunt in earnest. However, my mom advertised on a Facebook group and we met Nora. She's a 1 year old black lab.  We decided she would be a good fit in the family, so Santa Claus delivered her to Jack. She's still a puppy, but seems easily trainable. 

Loved: Spending time with both of our families for the holidays. It is so much nicer to do a gift exchange in person rather than through the mail.  We made so many wonderful memories that will have to sustain us until we can all get together again. It's hard living long distances from our families, but we will continue to do all we can to make those memories. 

Here are the pics for the week:










Thursday 24 December 2015

A Week in Review (November 15-21)

A Week in Review (November 15-21)

Watched: The Broncos lose horribly to the Chiefs. I couldn't believe that Peyton threw four picks in the game after setting the career high total. Ob the plus side, Nick was in a better mood than normal after the Chiefs game. 

Read: Go Set a Watchman. If Harper Lee only wanted to give one book to the world, I am glad it was To Kill a Mockingbird. Go Set a Watchman may shed light into the minds of southerners in the 60s.  There were several times that I really identified with Scout. It is so hard to know that your beliefs stand in direct opposition to those you love.  I hope that she comes to find peace with those differences.

Listened: To Jack's class act like a bunch of turkeys as they celebrated winning the pizza party for their pride cards. They also got to eat their way through a rainbow as the teacher had asked for parents to send in items with the different colors. It turned out really cute and I was sad I missed a pick. They had their feast so early because they get an entire week off for Thanksgiving. 

Made: And delivered cute little water bottles for our staff to thank them with their help with the Fall Festival. They were all very appreciative of the gesture.  It's always nice to bring a smile to someone's face. 

Felt: Out of sorts.  We had a huge snow!  It really ruined my plans for the day and it just put me in a funk. Plus, there was a lot of snow to shovel. We ended up with about a 2.5 foot drift in our driveway of very wet snow. Nick was able to get to work, so I had to shovel it myself. If snow blowers were compact, it would be on my Christmas list!

Planned: To go buy a Jackfruit to make some pulled pork type meal for Thanksgiving for them. When I got to the Asian market, I was blown away by their size and smell. I went ahead and bought a quarter of a ripe one, but it just didn't seem right. So I went back out to my car and googled a recipe. Turns out you need young jackfruit to make it. So I went back into the store and bought a couple cans. I'm interested to see how it turns out. 

Loved: Having a friend who isn't afraid of heights!  He brought over his extension ladder and got some of the dart tips that were stuck inside the skylights, installed bulbs in the light that can't be reached with even our 8 foot ladder, and hung Christmas lights over the roof of our house. I am just totally in love with the way it looks. It was such a nice treat. 

Here are the pics for the week:













A Week in Review (December 13-19)

A Week in Review (December 13-19)

Watched: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens with all Nick, Jack, the cousins, and Roy Jr. I loved it!  There was such good story build up and it was a very exciting movie.  We already have a $10 bet to see if I am right about the parentage of Rae.  There is even a countdown on my phone to the next movie. It's well over a year away, but the excitement is still there. 

Read: Not much. I just seem to keep choosing other things over my books. I am in the very beginning of The Shock of the Fall, but I can't tell you too much about it. 

Listened: To Jack say that we should have a snow day on Monday night. At that point there was a 35% chance of snow, so I told him to dream on. But what do you know?  He got his wish!  There wasn't a ton of snow, but the cold temperatures and wind made them call it. We even decided to scoop the back deck so that we could play basketball in the snow. We had to settle for horse, but it was still something I had never done before!

Made: An ugly sweater with Jack. His school was having a day to celebrate on Wednesday and we thought it would be fun to get in the action. I came up with the design, but the actual realization was all Jack. 

Felt: Determined to make it to Wichita so I didn't have to unload my stuff for just a quick sleep overnight. We had some great customer service from the Holiday Inn Express South to make it so that we were able to stay in one room our whole trip. It was quite excellent. 

Planned: To get this blog caught up. That didn't happen, but I am trying not to fall behind anymore!

Loved: Getting to see a lot of family in one place. It takes a lot of work for everyone to get together in one location when you are spread out over the United States, but it is worth it to hear the giggles of being together. 

Here are the pics for the week:





My new Christmas decorations from the boys. I didn't have them out them up since we were leaving, but I'll be excited next year.